Murray Wood: Police officers in the line of fire need more support from Ottawa.
Two RCMP officers were wounded in Melville, and officers have been killed in Montreal and Toronto. Murray Wood says the ...
Two Saskatchewan policing leaders say the shooting of two RCMP officers in Melville is part of a broader national trend of increasing violence against police, warning that “routine calls” are no longer a safe assumption for officers in the field.
Rob Farrer, president of the National Police Federation, said the emotional impact on officers is immediate and long-lasting.
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“It’s just heartbreaking,” Farrer said. “We understand that there’s certainly risk in policing, but every time it’s my initial reaction.”
Farrer said the Melville shooting, which left two officers hospitalized with serious injuries on Sunday night, reinforces the reality of unpredictability in modern policing.
“There really isn’t such a thing as a ‘routine’ call,” he said. “It could be a traffic stop. It could be what feels to be a fairly minor, routine call for service, but there really is no such thing.”
Farrer also pointed to what he described as a sharp rise in violence against officers across the country, citing data that show a significant increase in assaults over the past decade. According to Farrer, violence against police officers rose by 50 per cent between 2014-2024, which equates to 14,000 assaults each year. But, he added, the numbers don’t tell the full story.
“Every single cop is being assaulted once every five years, (with) some being assaulted multiple times,” he said.
Farrer said the trend is linked to broader issues in the criminal justice system, including repeat offenders and decisions around bail and sentencing.
“When criminals are in jail, they’re not committing crimes,” Farrer said. “The more time they spend on the street, the higher chance of crimes.”
He also raised concerns about staffing models in rural policing, where officers are frequently required to respond to remote areas with limited backup.
“We need to make sure that no one is working alone. That is clear,” Farrer said.
Cam McBride, Saskatoon’s police chief, said the Melville shooting highlights the emotional and operational strains being felt across the profession.
“It’s a horrible thing,” McBride said.
He said police leaders often find themselves supporting staff through repeated critical incidents and described memorial practices – including lowering flags and signing condolence books – that serve as constant reminders of loss in the profession.
McBride also emphasized how quickly situations can escalate from calm to dangerous on any police call.
“One minute everything is completely calm and normal, and the next minute chaos breaks out,” he said.
He said that unpredictability fundamentally changes how officers approach their work and how they are perceived by the public.
“That situational awareness, being on our game, and often being so engaged in our personal safety may be perceived as dismissive or rude,” McBride said.
“All we’re doing is doing our very best to be aware and to be safe.”
When asked about the impact of violent incidents in the community, McBride said even relatively rare events like serious assaults can affect people’s confidence in the police.
“One or two of those is certainly enough to rock the community, and to really raise the level of fear,” he said.
Both McBride and Farrer pointed to broader concerns about rising violence in Canada, with Farrer warning that trends in violent crime and assaults on officers are part of a wider, national pattern affecting public safety.
The RCMP said Markus Dodge, a 55-year-old resident of Melville, was arrested at the scene of the shooting early on Monday morning following a lengthy standoff. He’s been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, along with discharging a firearm with intent, pointing a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm.
